India

British filmmaker Leslee Udwin’s documentary featuring interviews of the men convicted of the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman was at the centre of a controversy on Tuesday as Delhi Police said they would go to court to stop the airing of the film.

India and Pakistan on Tuesday agreed to work together on narrowing their differences and finding common ground on mutual concerns, the first tentative step towards resuming dialogue after a six-month freeze in ties following the cancellation of foreign secretary-level talks last year.

With space cooperation, nuclear power and defence hardware on his mind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rejigged his week-long Europe-Canada tour next month to make Paris the first stop on April 10, followed by Bonn and finally Toronto.

India’s main public health programmes, aimed at millions of rural poor, have been in disarray for months because the government changed the way that over $1.3 billion in funds were distributed, according to data and letters seen by Reuters.

Putting up a strong defence of the bill to amend the land acquisition ordinance in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the law would stay and his government was willing to re-work any provision which was detrimental to farmers’ interest.

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday cleared a bill concerning auctioning of mines, even as opposition MPs staged a walkout crying foul over certain provisions, including one that said all mining leases shall be granted for a period of fifty years. This provision would also be applicable to mining leases granted before the commencement of the Act.

The government on Tuesday introduced a bill providing for raising foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in insurance sector to 49%, amid strong protest from Opposition MPs who questioned government’s legislative competence to bring it in the Lok Sabha while a similar bill was pending in the Rajya Sabha.

The slaughter of cows, bulls, bullocks and calves, is now completely banned in Maharashtra under the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (amendment) Act (MAPA), 1995, which received President Pranab Mukherjee’s nod on Monday.

Large scale deforestation in the high latitudes – the boreal regions – could affect rainfall in the monsoonal regions of tropics, new research by the Indian Institute of Science published on Tuesday shows.